Mark Cuban and Charles Barkley

Mark Cuban and Charles Barkley are famous people.  Mr. Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks NBA franchise and Charles Barkley is a Hall of Fame basketball player who now provides commentary for NBA games on the TNT network.  Mr. Cuban is also on the show Shark Tank, earning his way there after selling his company for $40M.  Both are known for speaking their minds with a refreshing candor.

A couple of weeks ago Charles Barkley angered people in San Antonio when he commented that women in that city tend to be large.  After the predictable outcry, Mr. Barkley said he wasn't going to apologize, that his humor is what it is and if people didn't like it, they could choose to change the channel and not listen to him.  When given another opportunity to walk back the comment, Mr. Barkley refused, saying his opinion wasn't going to change.

Mr. Cuban has been opining on race and racism lately in the wake of the Donald Sterling controversy.  At the same time he rejected Mr. Sterling's comments, he worried about the slippery slope of the methods being taken by the NBA against Mr. Sterling and their later application to other scandals.  Frankly, Mr. Cuban's concerns are insightful and not tacit support for Mr. Sterling's racism, but those comments aren't what worry people now.

In the last couple of days, Mr. Cuban said, in essence, that he, like all of us, has his own prejudices, such as if he saw a young black kid in a hoodie late at night, which would cause him to cross the street, as would seeking a white skinhead covered in tattoos.  Again, Mr. Cuban's candor should be applauded, but instead it's drawing fire.

Questions are flying around asking whether Mr. Cuban is racist.  To me, this is ridiculous.  Mr. Cuban has long been on record against racism, has uttered no racist comments whatsoever and loudly objected to Mr. Sterling's comments.  What he did was admit that, given a certain situation, he would react in a way that most people, if they were honest, would do themselves.  Instead, critics are invoking the memory of Trayvon Martin and suggesting that Mr. Cuban is a closet racist.

Neither Mr. Barkley nor Mr. Cuban deserve any criticism.  People can disagree with their statements all they want, but to censure them for speaking their minds is ridiculous.  Furthermore, it's hypocritical, because the same people would do nothing to suppress rap lyrics that are racist, homophobic and sexist.  Cloaking hate speech as art doesn't make the hate any less real.  Inasmuch as I condemn such rap lyrics, I believe the artists have the right to speak them.  The same should hold for Mr. Barkley and Mr. Cuban.  But people are more concerned about their righteous indignation than allowing a fellow citizen to exercise his right to free speech and are ready to infringe on that right.

Mr. Barkley's comments may not have been nice, but he's entitled to his opinion.  Mr. Cuban's opinions are shared by many people who won't admit them.  There was nothing racist about them but rather express what many people feel.  What's more, there is at least an element of truth to them.

The hyper-sensitivity that exists in this country is troubling.  The double standards are concerning.  Instead of condemning Mr. Barkley and Mr. Cuban, I applaud them for having the guts to express what they believe without resorting to political correctness.

(c) 2014 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles